1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to air purifiers for use in the home or in the office for removing particulate contaminants from the atmosphere; and more particularly to a unit of this type specifically adapted to remove coarse airborne particles from the air surrounding the face during contact lens insertion and to prevent contamination of contact lens surfaces by airborne particulate matter during insertion.
2. Status of the Art
It is well known that modern homes and buildings are almost all virtually hermetically isolated from the exterior atmosphere and therefore undergo a gradual build-up of contaminants, such as lint, for example, which are internally generated. These contaminants have many sources, such as, for example, airborne fibers derived from rugs and other fabrics, hairs from pet animals and particulate matter thrown off by appliances such as air conditioners, furnaces, heaters and heat pumps, for example. As a consequence, although contact lenses are invariably inserted in a home or office environment, the interior, especially the air surrounding the face during insertion of these contact lenses, is not free of contaminants.
Various domestic filtration units are commercially available for home use. Thus the typical household air conditioner includes a fibrous or open-cell foam plastic filter to remove coarse particles from air passing through the conditioner. Some electric, gas and oil furnaces now on the market include a high voltage electro-static precipitator unit to purify the air passing therethrough.
One example of an air purifier unit indicative of the state of the art is the "Compact Air Purifier Unit" in U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,781 issued to Spector on July 1, 1986. Another is the "Air Purifier and Ionizer" specified in U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,852 issued to Adams on Mar. 3, 1981. Yet another example of the art is the "Dust Collecting Down Draft Bench" of U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,298 issued to Mackey on Jan. 3, 1967. There is also an "Electronic Air Cleaner" by Kanazawa which includes a mechanical pre-filter as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,988,131 issued on Oct. 26, 1976. There are also air cleaners and dust collectors such as in Yanagaway, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,903 issued May 5, 1987; Verity, U.S. Pat. No. 4,376,642 issued Mar. 15, 1983; Axelrod, U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,693 issued Sept. 20, 1977; and the air cleaning apparatus of Frei, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,862 issued Dec. 9, 1986.
None of this art addresses the task of providing a dust free environment in the immediate vicinity of one's face during the insertion of a contact lens nor the problems caused by dust particles adhering to a contact lens prior to insertion nor the necessity for an apparatus specifically adapted to prevent, mitigate, or eliminate problems caused by the attachment of these airborne dust particles to the contact lens and remaining there at insertion into the eye and attachment to the cornea. When a contact lens is attached to the cornea and a foreign body is caught inbetween the cornea and the lens, the cornea is often irritated by the body foreign body being there.
In the home or office it is not only essential to remove dust and large size contaminants from the air in the vicinity of the face and contact lens to be able to insert a contact lens which is free of particles inbetween the contact lens and the eye which may irritate the eye, it is also desirable to provide an air flow mechanism capable of washing course contaminants and loose hair from the fingers, face, eyelids, eyelashes, eyebrows, facial hair and hair located on the crown of the head prior to insertion to insure that the contact lens is cleaned of any irritating particles.
In view of the foregoing, the main object of the invention is to provide a unit suitable for the home or office which not only washes the face and hands with a filtered stream of air but also functions to impart a filtered supply of air to the face which substantially eliminates airborne particles from falling onto a contact lens and remaining there during insertion.
More particularly, the object of this invention is to provide a unit of the above type which reduces the probability of particles and dust being deposited on the surface of a contact lens prior to its insertion and attachment to the surface of an eyeball and yet not blow away the lens due to its over capacity.